


Service With a Smile

by goodnighthazel



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Android!Tsugu, Coffee Shops, F/F, Mutual Pining, Near Future, Sayo POV - Freeform, sayo is gay (for robots)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25763422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodnighthazel/pseuds/goodnighthazel
Summary: An unlikely friendship emerges between Sayo, a tired college student, and Tsugumi, a service android who is rather bad at hiding that she is sentient.
Relationships: Hazawa Tsugumi/Hikawa Sayo, Hikawa Hina/Maruyama Aya (Mentioned)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work literally came to me in a dream, and I just had to write it. Feedback appreciated!

From where Sayo Hikawa was sitting, the sun always seemed to set at an uncomfortable angle. The glare was always just a bit too much. Of course, that was mostly because she was almost always lingering at Hazawa Coffee near closing time, but there was no need to get hung up on the details. From there, Sayo’s mind wandered to the specifics of city planning, wondering if cities were often structured around the setting and rising of the sun, to minimize people having it in their eyes. It certainly made sense for a coffee shop to be facing a direction where the sun would set, since most of its clientele are probably in the morning and early afternoon, and it wouldn’t do to have the sun in your eyes first thing in the morning…

“Eh, err, um… Sayo-san… we’re closed now…”

Sayo was broken out of her daydream by Eve, who was on shift at the coffee shop that day.

“Oh… sorry, Wakamiya-san. I’ll be right out…”

“O-Oh, there’s no rush! I was just going to do the cleaning anyway. I’m going to lock the door, so just make sure you close it behind you, please!”

“Right. Thanks.”

She certainly had a lot to daydream about, although most of it didn’t involve city planning. Her band was remaining active and enjoying rising popularity in the local scene, despite initial fears that activities would dwindle as most of its members entered university. Her own school workload, although intensive, was deeply rewarding. And as frantic as her day-to-day life was, she still managed to find time to stop at the coffee shop, to do school work or just be alone with her frequently wandering thoughts. She found herself wanting for very little.

Sayo closed her laptop and shoved it back into her bag. It was only then that she’d taken a good look around the coffee shop. Her mind had been wandering so much that she didn’t notice for the entire time she’d spent here today, but suddenly she was tipped off somehow.

“Hey, Wakamiya-san,” she asked, “is it just you here tonight? What happened to that service android you guys got?”

“Oh, I think they said she needed a chassis refitting or something,” said Eve, who was elbow-deep in a trash can. “It’s too bad, too. I always get more done when she’s around, hehe.”

That’s right. The service android that the coffee shop decided to get about a month ago. They’d called her… Tsugumi, or something like that. Not everyone opted to give androids names, but for one in the service industry, it probably made more sense for customers and coworkers alike to have a name to call them by rather than a model number. Sayo hadn’t seen Tsugumi very much, since they usually had her working on drinks in the back. Eve never seemed to be able to get most of the drinks right, against all odds (“Finland consumes more coffee than any other country in the world!” she had once protested), so they usually had her waiting tables instead. 

Sayo remembered a news article she had read recently that claimed androids meant for the service industry would outnumber human workers within the next ten years. Although service androids were intentionally designed to work alongside humans rather than replace them entirely, it was hard to argue with the fact that they didn’t get sick, or need breaks, or days off. Still, service androids at that point were mostly limited to larger chains due to their cost, and smaller independent shops usually didn’t bother.

Which only made it all the more surprising when Eve mentioned to Sayo that the coffee shop had one on the way. The owners apparently saw it as a future investment, she said, and it was probably cheaper overall than hiring another part-timer.

The thought left Sayo just as soon as yet another frantic aspect of her life entered. That unmistakable voice with its unmistakable cadence.

“ _Oneeeee-chaaaaan!”_

It was Hina, of course. Somehow, she had managed to get into the coffee shop, and skidded into the lobby doing a pose out of a tokusatsu show or something. Sayo let out a sigh. Her peaceful evening had clearly come to an end.

“H-Hina-san!” yelped Eve, both hands full of trash bags. “I thought I closed that door…”

“It’s fine, Eve-chan! I just came to pick up Sis. I just knew she’d be here, scoping out that cute android gal you guys have now—”

“ _Hina!_ ” It was Sayo’s turn to yelp now.

“Yeah, I know,” said Hina, shaking her head in mock disapproval. “We really gotta get you a girlfriend one of these days. Pining after androids is definitely a new one.”

“Not another word, Hina. We’re leaving,” barked Sayo as she slung her bag over her back and walked past Hina.

Hina shrugged. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” she said to Eve as she made her way out as well.

“See you tomorrow,” said Eve with a knowing smirk.

The twins only had a few blocks to walk from the coffee shop. They were currently sharing an apartment; breaking from the tradition they’d started in middle and high school, they had ended up attending the same university, so splitting that expense both ways just made financial and practical sense.

As Sayo drifted off to sleep that night, her final thoughts were, ironically, of Tsugumi. She certainly was _cute_ , as Hina had so eloquently put it – of course, she was designed that way. And she was definitely the agreeable sort – of course she was, since she worked in the service industry. She had to be agreeable to customers. It was only natural.

_Sleep now. No more thinking._

* * *

The next afternoon, Sayo was once again lurking around Hazawa Coffee. Lost in her thoughts once again, she was snapped out of it by a peppy, high-pitched voice – not quite like Eve’s, but it grabbed one’s attention nonetheless.

“Um… excuse me… I saw that you needed a refill…”

When Sayo looked at the source of the new voice, she nearly fell out of her chair. It was Tsugumi, the new android.

“Oh! Um. Hello. Yes, that would be great, thank you. Um, how did you know I needed it though?”

“I predicted it based on your average consumption time! I’m very glad I was correct,” the peppy android said. “Three sugars and two creams, right?”

“Y-Yeah,” said Sayo, mildly embarrassed that her taste in sweet coffee was somehow incorporated into the android’s algorithm as well.

This was the first time Sayo had been able to get a good look at Tsugumi. She looked… well, she looked like a person, which was probably the point. She wore the same apron that every other employee wore. Short brown hair styled into an agreeable bob. Not especially tall; likely about the same height as Hina from eyeballing it. The way she skipped away with Sayo’s cup reminded her of a little puppy or something. Was that the point too? Was she programmed that way?

…She’s kind of cute.

_No, no, no, none of that._

“Er, excuse me,” Sayo called.

Tsugumi spun around on one heel just a bit too perfectly. “Yes?”

“…Could I have that refill to go, actually?”

“Of course! Right away!” said that peppy voice that didn’t sound at all robotic… in fact, it sounded… rather familiar, in a sentimental sort of way…

Sayo slapped her laptop closed once again and let out a long, deep sigh. Maybe Hina was right about the whole girlfriend thing.


	2. Cooking Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the cooking class chapter.

“A… cooking class?” said Sayo, eyeing the flyer that had just been thrust into her hands by the peppy android.

“Yep!” said Tsugumi, practically hopping on her heels. “The owners want to spread the word about the shop and build our relationships with customers, and since I know a ton about—err, since I possess the requisite knowledge banks, they asked me to administer it. If you want to sign up, just fill out the back of that flyer and bring it to the front!”

“I’ll… think about it. Thank you.”

A cooking class certainly wasn’t the worst of ideas. Sayo had some knowledge of the basic processes of cooking, since her bandmate Lisa was a skilled baker and had shown her some of the ropes. But while she and Hina did cook on occasion, most of their diets seemed to consist of convenience store food and delivery, in true college student fashion… to say nothing of all the coffee and sweets Sayo consumed hanging around the coffee shop almost every day.

The thought was interrupted by the characteristic chime of the door opening as four figures walked in. Sayo recognized them immediately as the four members of Afterglow, another band that had managed to retain its status as local scene darlings. Sayo was silently glad Yukina wasn’t here to make things terribly awkward due to Ran Mitake’s presence, although their rivalry had mostly fizzled out at that point (because they were crushing on each other, but that’s a story for another time).

“Welcome!” said Tsugumi. “Table for four?”

“Yes, please!” said Himari.

“Oooh, it’s that cute android,” cooed Moca, projecting her voice to the entire shop.

“Moca!” barked Ran.

“Yes, this is Moca-chan, how are you today~?”

“Ugh…” Same as always.

Tomoe slumped into her seat with her usual swagger. “Gotta admit there’s something about her, though.”

“Tomoe!” cried Himari. “You meanie!”

“I’m just kidding, babe. My heart belongs to you, obviously.”

Tsugumi skipped over to the group’s table, apparently not hearing their conversation. “Can I get anything started for you girls?”

They gave their orders, and when Tsugumi skipped away to get them started, she suddenly did a heel turn and skipped back over to Sayo. “Refill?” she said with a grin. She wasn’t even really _asking._ She knew Sayo would say yes. Of course, she was made that way.

“Oh, yes, thank you.”

As she skipped away again, Sayo had a childish thought, one she would never voice: _Only I’m allowed to think she’s cute._

A few minutes later Tsugumi returned with an assortment of baked treats and cups of coffee. Moca immediately began going in on a large bread-looking thing.

“Mmmmgrrmmm…” she vocalized, mouth full. “This is truly a quality piece. You could even say it’s… hmm… it’s _Tsugurific!_ ”

Everyone laughed, except Ran, who buried her hands in her face.

Sayo mulled in her thoughts for a bit longer, then fished a pen out of her backpack. Maybe she would give that cooking class a try after all.

***

The cooking class was on the weekend. Sayo debated inviting Hina along, but she usually slept in on the weekends, so Sayo decided to let her sleep. Besides, Hina’s boisterous personality had the ability to command a room, and Sayo wanted to do this herself.

_The cooking, definitely. Not talking to her. Yeah._

She shook her head and walked out the door. She would just see how things go.

When she arrived at the coffee shop, it had a much different atmosphere than usual. The café had closed earlier than usual for the event, and all the tables and chairs had been removed and replaced with larger folding tables with tablecloths on them around the perimeter of the seating area. It was rather bustling; Sayo estimated there were about thirty people gathered around, many of whom were kids, presumably brought along by their parents as a weekend activity. When it came to cooking, Sayo definitely felt more like a kid than a twenty-one-year-old woman.

“Sayo-san!” said that all too familiar voice once again. The peppy android skipped over to Sayo and handed her an information pamphlet of some sort. “Are you here for the cooking class? I’m so glad you decided to come!”

“A-Ah, hello. That’s right,” said Sayo. “I have some knowledge of cooking, but I could certainly stand to use more. By the way, um, it’s quite the turnout you have here.”

“Yeah! Actually, it’s a bit more than we expected,” said Tsugumi, laughing nervously. “But hey, if you already know the basics, you should do just fine! We’re making iced sugar cookies today. Nothing too difficult!”

“You say that, but… I’ve actually never done cookies before. As I recall, it was pound cake I made the last time I attempted to bake. That had its share of challenges…”

“Wow, pound cake? That’s pretty challenging to get right. You might find you know more than you think!”

“Ah, w-well… thank you. I hope so…” Sayo hoped her blushing wasn’t too obvious as she turned away and dawned her apron.

***

It didn’t take more than ten minutes for Sayo to realize that she was hopelessly out of her element. Despite being told the very basic steps—all you had to do was mix the flour, butter, and sugar, Tsugumi cheerfully said—she was utterly confused, looking around at other people’s tables to see what they were doing.

Tsugumi was helping out a group of kids a few tables over when Eve (who can’t bake to save her life, but still showed up today to help out) tapped her on the shoulder.

“I think Sayo-san is practically crying out to you for help over there,” said Eve.

“Eh? Sayo-san?”

“Yeah. Maybe you should go ask her if she’s doing alright? I can take over here.”

“Really?”

“Oh, come on. I can take a spoon and, um… put in the bowl. And then mix… uh, hmm… I’ll need to channel all of the spirit of bushido to figure this one out…”

Tsugumi smiled. It seemed Eve was going to learn today too. “I’ll pop right back in a second,” she said.

She walked over to Sayo, trying to approach from the side so that she wasn’t startled. “Hey, Sayo-san… is everything okay over here?”

“Ah, Tsugumi-san… well, I kind of have no idea what I’m doing here…” said Sayo in a forlorn voice.

Tsugumi had to make sure her ‘blushing’ face parameters weren’t set to trigger automatically. Sayo used her name. She had never done that before, had she? Just to be sure, she checked in her conversation logs for Sayo, going back an entire month. No, it was true. That was the first time. Tsugumi could barely contain her joy at being recognized by Sayo…

_But wait… why? What exactly am I feeling about Sayo-san? Could this be… a friendship budding?_

“Um… Tsugumi-san?”

“Oh! Sorry! Um, where were we… Oh, right! So you want to start by mixing the butter and sugar together, until they’re sort of a creamy white colour.”

“Creamy… white… I think I can understand that. At least I hope so. Thank you.”

“Just let me know if you need any more help, hehe! That’s why I’m here, hehehe!”

With that, Tsugumi skipped off a little more quickly than usual to relieve Eve from the situation she’d just been roped into.

Sayo quickly turned around to hide her beet red face. Tsugumi’s laughter was… like the sun.

_That doesn’t even make sense. Suns don’t laugh._

She wiped a bead of sweat away from her forehead. This was going to be a long class.

***

Eventually, Sayo did managed to get her mix to look acceptable, although it took a great deal more work to get the creamy white colour than expected. Honestly, it was more yellow than white, but Tsugumi said that was fine, so Sayo decided she was satisfied with her work.

And work it certainly was. She had a long way to go before she was considered passable at this. Regardless, she had managed to create what seemed to be an acceptable dough, and placed it in the refrigerator to chill for thirty minutes. Closing the refrigerator door, she let out a little sigh.

_What was really more work… the cookies or her?_

“Sayo-san! You did really well!” said Tsugumi as she skipped back over.

_Definitely her, definitely her…_

“Thank you for your help, Tsugumi-san. Your instructions were very easy to understand.”

“Oh… oh! Yes! Of course! I’m so glad I could help you, Sayo-san!” she said, her eyes practically sparkling.

“…Say, Tsugumi-san. We have some time until the dough chills. Why don’t we… talk a little bit more? I’d like to get to know you a little better… if that’s alright with you.”

“Get to know me…? Well, I don’t know if there’s much to know. I am an android, and I’ve only ever worked here at the shop.”

“Yes, well… I’ve only read a little bit about it, so I don’t know all of the specifics, but… it’s quite possible for androids to have what is known as ‘sentience,’ correct? Meaning you would have a personality, interests, likes, dislikes, and so on.”

Tsugumi was so flustered that she definitely forgot to turn off her blushing parameters. She thought she was hiding that pretty well, but Sayo wasn’t one to let things slide.

“I-I hope that’s not offensive to ask you about,” Sayo quickly added.

“Oh no, not at all! And… well, you’re right… but that doesn’t really help much when you’re a service android, so I usually don’t talk about that stuff, ehehe… Plus I’ve only been in commission for about a month, so there’s a lot of stuff I haven’t really experienced. Although I’ve read about pretty much anything you can imagine.”

“Well, I’d like to know if anything has piqued your interest. Not as a service android, but as Tsugumi-san. Once again, only if you want to.”

***

“…and that’s when I arrived on a YouTube video of a Hello, Happy World performance. It was at a hospital, from the looks of it. I thought it was very admirable how devoted they are to making people smile.”

“I see. You have an interest in music, then? I happen to be part of a band myself. You may have heard of it. Roselia.”

“Ro…selia… oh! Yes, I have definitely heard one of your songs before! Wow, and you’re so talented… it’s so cool to have a member right in front of me!” How many times would Sayo have to go beet red in the face today?

“W-Well… I don’t know if you, like… get out at all, but…”

_Ding!_ went the thirty-minute timer. The dough was ready to be cut and baked.

“Oh! We’d better get that,” said Tsugumi as she rose from her seat.

“Oh… yeah, definitely,” said Sayo.

_But if you want, I can take you back to my place and show you my guitar and stuff,_ she had been about to say. But wasn’t that completely jumping the gun? Inviting Tsugumi over when their relationship had been little more than small talk in a coffee shop? What was she thinking? And to say nothing of the obvious fact that she was still a service android. She probably couldn’t just come and go as she pleased. And oh God, what would Hina think? She’d never let Sayo hear the end of it. Not that she’d been doing a lot of meeting people these days herself, since she’d been dating her bandmate Aya for like a year now…

_Wait, dating? When did I start thinking about that?!_

Not much longer now.

By some stroke of luck, the rest of the cooking class managed to go off with relatively few hitches. The cookies baked evenly, perhaps due to the great lengths Sayo took to ensure that the cookies were the proper thickness. The decorating portion also went relatively well, even if the dog pawprint Sayo had attempted to draw looked more like a puddle of mud.

As the class drew to a close, Sayo offered to stay back and help clean up. She thought it would be her opportunity to talk to Tsugumi, but they didn’t end up crossing paths like that again – or perhaps Sayo had just been avoiding her on purpose. But that didn’t matter. Her priority would be to sort out exactly what she was feeling right now, and then…

_Tomorrow. I’ll ask her again tomorrow. Yeah._

Sayo despondently munched on one of her misery cookies as she speedwalked back to the apartment. It didn’t taste like much, but it was passable. Maybe Hina would appreciate them more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know i had to
> 
> thanks for reading! feedback appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hina tries to help.

Sayo dreamed again that night.

She was in the apartment she shared with her sister, but it was dark and empty, and Hina was nowhere to be seen.

She was in the coffee shop. It was dark as if the lights had been turned off after business ended, the only illumination coming from the fluorescent glint of drink coolers.

It was empty too, except for a figure at the back of the shop. Sayo couldn’t see their face or make out their silhouette. Cautiously, slowly, she began walking towards the figure.

Now that she was close enough, she could make out the distinctive apron worn by employees. Yet the figure’s face was still obscured in the inexplicable way they often are in one’s dreams.

At this point, Sayo became aware of the fact that she was dreaming, but she decided to see it through anyway.

“Hello?” she managed to get out, but the words seemed to shrivel away as they left her lips.

The figure sensed her presence, but still their face was obscured.

“Sayo-san… why won’t you be honest with me?” the figure said in a voice that was synthetic and sweet all at once.

Sayo couldn’t manage to get any more words out. _What do you mean?_ she replied in her mind, hoping it would somehow get through to the figure.

The figure turned around on one heel, so quickly that it was startling, as if they were somehow motorized.

_I never meant you any harm, Sayo-san… Please come back… We can talk again…_

_P l e a s e . . . S a y o – s a n . . ._

Only then did Sayo notice that the figure’s—no, Tsugumi’s eyes were glowing red.

_Ah—_

…

…

Sayo jolted awake. A cold sweat made her hair stick to her forehead, and the covers were all jumbled up on the bed. She was breathing heavily and her heart was racing.

_Okay. That was a dream. You know it was. Calm down._

Once Sayo regained enough of her composure, she fumbled around on the nightstand until her hand met her phone. The clock read 5:48 AM. It was Sunday, so she didn’t have any classes to go to, but now she was wide awake anyway. She made her way out of bed and threw on one of her nightgowns.

She found a small bottle of water in the refrigerator and made her way out onto the apartment’s small balcony. On a student’s budget, it was a small miracle that she and Hina were able to find a place with outdoor space at all, and Sayo made use of it quite often.

It was late summer, but the early morning air was just nippy enough to make Sayo realize her thin nightgown offered just barely enough warmth. The chilled water suddenly didn’t seem so appealing now, so she eschewed it onto the small table they had outside.

A few moments later, there was a creak as the balcony door opened again and a very bedheaded Hina emerged. “Heeey, Sis,” she said, sleepiness still clouding her words. “Didn’t think I’d see you out here.”

“Ah, Hina. I’m out here all the time.”

“But it’s Sunday. You don’t have class, right? Thought you’d be sleeping in. Wish I could do that, hehe…”

“Oh… plans with the group today?”

Hina slumped down onto the opposing balcony chair. “Yeah, a meeting with the brass at the agency. Something about arranging studio sessions with the producers. I dunno, boring stuff. Mostly a bunch of suits talking amongst themselves and us sitting there looking pretty. Not sure why they need us to be there for most of these meetings, but y’know.”

“I see…”

“Buuuut, it’s not all bad. Gonna have a hot date with Aya-chan afterwards!”

“There is no need to be so crude.”

“What? What’d I say?” Hina giggled.

Sayo groaned and looked out onto the horizon. The direction their apartment faced was ideal, as the sun rose in the opposite direction, and Sayo could enjoy the early morning hours without worrying about the light in her eyes.

“So,” said Hina, grinning and steepling her fingers. “What were you dreaming about?”

Sayo nearly leapt out of her seat. “ _What._ ”

“Jeez, don’t be so jumpy. You were talking in your sleep.”

Sayo deflated a little bit. “Is that so.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t make any words out, but it was kinda startling. Having a nightmare or something?”

 _Was_ that a nightmare? Sayo honestly didn’t know. It sure seemed like one towards the end.

“…I don’t remember.”

Hina saw right through the lie. But as much as the two had butted heads, they were still twin sisters. Hina knew when prying wouldn’t get her anywhere.

“Aaalrighty then. Welp, I’m gonna go take a shower,” said Hina as she got back up, stretching.

As she made to go back inside, Sayo wondered if she had seen through that lie.

***

“Dang, Sis, these cookies are pretty boppin’!” said Hina, her mouth stuffed full.

“Is that so…” said Sayo, looking listlessly out of the kitchen window.

“No, really! I think you might have a thing for this!” Hina assured her, crumbs falling all over her lap. At the very least, it was possible that Sayo’s nerves made the cookies tastes like sand in her mouth, she thought.

Sayo broke out of her daze and looked back at her sister. “Hina, when you and Maruyama-san started dating… how did that come about for you?”

Hina’s mouth curled into a feline grin. “Whoa, random much?”

“I was just curious. Is it a problem to care about your love life?”

“Nah, not at all! It’s all good.”

“Yes.”

“Yeeeep.”

“Yes?”

A beat. Then another.

“…It’s the android gal, right?”

Sayo went beet red in no time flat. Hina nearly fell out of her chair laughing. “I knew it!”

“I-I would appreciate it if you took this seriously, please!”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry,” said Hina, wiping a tear away. “I just didn’t think you really had a thing for her! Well… maybe I did think it a little bit.”

Sayo was burying her face in her hands. “Please don’t go telling everyone about this…”

“Of course I won’t! Who do you think I am? Besides, it’s not like I have a problem with it or anything. There are a lot of human-android couples these days. I don’t think anyone would give you a hard time.”

“It’s not that I’m worried about… it’s just… I don’t even know how it happened,” said Sayo, slumped over on the kitchen table. “It’s like everything she does is just a little… too perfect.”

“Well, I can’t blame you. She’s a cutie for sure.”

“She’s a service android. She has to be able to, well, serve people. But… you know that cooking class I went to? She was doting on me in particular the entire time. Did she have to do that? Was it just me?”

“Well… hmm…” Hina was deep in thought. “Androids are usually sentient, right? So I dunno if it’s right to say she’s doing that stuff because she has to. If you think it’s real, then it probably is.”

Hina was right. For all the feelings Sayo was having about Tsugumi, and the time she spent trying to get to know her on a personal level, she had still chosen to see the android’s actions as pre-ordained in some way. Sayo was thinking about it all wrong. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at that realization.

“Well,” continued Hina, perhaps picking up on the fact that Sayo was getting in her head again, “I don’t really know what exactly you should do, but… you asked about Aya-chan and I, right? I can tell you about that.”

Sayo rose her head from the table.

“Well, Aya-chan and me, hmm… I guess we had just spent a lot of time together, working closely with each other, and we got to know each other that way. And then one day, I asked her out on a date. Not like a romantic date, just a friend date… or at least that’s what it was supposed to be.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah, it was like… immediately we just had this connection that we’d never had before, when it was just the two of us, away from any of our expectations. And after that, we just kinda never stopped hanging out. And then a few months later, I asked her to be my girlfriend… thinking, you know, she might just politely turn me down. We have our work, we’re public figures, what if the fans find out, that sort of thing.”

“And…?”

“And… what really happened is… she immediately bursted into tears. She said yes. Actually, she said she’d been wanting to ask me forever, but just didn’t know how to bring it up. I couldn’t believe it. I actually asked her if she was joking. It was pretty great.” Hina looked out into the sky and smiled as she recalled that fond memory.

“I see… I’m very glad you were able be honest about your feelings.”

“Well, try to be honest about yours! Just talk to her and asking what sort of things she likes.”

“Funnily enough… I did exactly that. But we were interrupted, and I never got another chance.”

“It’s not a one-time thing, Sis. You’re at that shop like every day, right? You’ll get to talk to her again.”

“Yes… I suppose you’re right. Thank you, Hina.”

Sayo still didn’t know how to approach this exactly, but at the very least, she didn’t feel like she was losing her mind anymore. Hina picked up on things quickly. Sayo decided to trust her word for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! I've been off writing for a while for mental health reasons, but I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things now. as always, feedback is appreciated!


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